Haddowfest Presents… Meursault + Friends (Withered Hand + Found)
Edinburgh Liquid Rooms, Friday 26th April
With this being the first in a series of monthly shows organised by Haddowfest, one of the city’s top annual multi-venue festival organisers, it was important for the organisers to hit the ground running. Even before the doors opened it was obvious that the inaugural event was to be one hot ticket with the likes of fellow Scottish heavyweights FOUND and Withered Hand providing the support for Neil Pennycook and his band. With headline shows at larger venues such as Edinburgh’s Queens Hall and London’s Islington Hall already under their belts in 2012, it would seem that Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms is an intimate setting for Meursault, which just shows how far they have come in terms of their ever growing popularity.
I was impressed that I managed to arrive at the venue at 7.30, what with Edinburgh’s city centre now looking like an endless graveyard of tram works, traffic jams and lunatic drivers. However I was disappointed that early start times meant I missed Withered Hand’s performance – who I have still to see live – therefore once again being the victim of Edinburgh’s strict gig curfew times! From what I had heard from talking to fellow punters it was apparent that I had missed a belter of a set, with Dan Wilson and his band on top form to open the show.
Bugger.
Nevertheless, my disappointment didn’t last long with the arrival of River of Slime and Lomond Campbell of art-rockers FOUND taking to the stage. Introducing themselves as “Hi, we’re FOUND…. I think”, referencing the recent departure of FOUND bassist Tommy Perman, the new-look two piece were in fine form showcasing a new change in direction in dropping the guitars which were common in their critically acclaimed EP factorycraft, for a plethora of digital gizmo’s and analogue delay machines to create their brand of lo-fi experimental electronica. It was an impressive display of fine electronic wizardry, for which you would expect nothing less from the likes of the experimental group.
Meursault took to the stage with a nod from compere Ally McRae, of the bands recent nomination for the Scottish Album of the Year, with “Something for the Weakened” making the longlist along with the likes of Errors, RM Hubbard and Stanley Odd, while sitting nicely alongside major artists such as Emilie Sande and Calvin Harris. It reminded the audience not only of the quality of the artist they were about to witness, but the fact that here is a home grown talent who has progressed from playing pubs to selling out large venues. Pennycook’s writing and recording has also followed suit in terms of the bands progression from the lo-fi charm of earlier records to the more polished, full-blown studio release of “Something for the Weakened”.
The band opened with a raucous live version of “Flittin’”, which proves that the band are not just about folky ballads but can rock it out when the mood takes them. The raw power and energy that pulsates through the venue is awesome, which is a contrast and an evolution in comparison to the more gentle arrangements of their album tracks. It set the tone for the rest of the set with Pennycook throwing everything he had into an incredible performance that had the audience hanging on to every word and note. This was no more apparent than during “Crank Resolutions” where the stripped back and melancholic arrangement, more akin to the likes of Múm and Sigur Ros, allows Pennycook to throw all his emotion into the song which resulted in a completely transfixed audience, drinking in every lyric and note. It takes a special kind of vocalist who is able to hold an audience in complete suspense. Pennycook has shown that he has grown into his front man status, with his cheery on stage persona as he chats to audience members, dedicating “Dull Spark” to Oskar, “who is four today!”. Following whoops and shouts of “one more tune” from an understandably enthusiastic audience, the band returned for an encore with a incredible performance of “Song for Martin Klipperberger”, taken from their 2010 album “All Creatures Will Make Merry”. It even had BBC Introducing favourite Ally McRae, who was standing next to me at the bar, singing along to every word. The performance was simply stunning, with the song building to a climax to end on Pennycook, cutting the shape of a lone figure, belting out “Please don’t send me home…” acapella. You could literally feel his pain through his emotion and the incredibly relaxed tone to Pennycook’s voice, which had the audience, and bar staff, completely mesmerised.
Sure, Meursault may have an award nominated album alongside some of the industries big guns, but as a live band, they can cut it with the best of them. Outstanding.
THE BUZZ STOP 